In prayer you communicate with God, in meditation God communicates with you.

There are different meditations that each serve a purpose depending on what it is that you want to achieve.

First, let me give you a few pointers to get you started.

You want to be in a room that is quiet and free of distractions.
Allow time for your meditation. You do not want to feel rushed. You can have your meditations last for 3 - 10 minutes and as you proceed you may want to go longer.

Be open to meditation. Just relax and breath.

In prayer you communicate with God, in meditation God communicates with you.

We live in a very hectic, fast paced and stressful world and being stressed and tired makes us unhappy, impatient and frustrated.

And because of all of this you might feel that you do not have time to meditate. But, if you meditate that will give you more time because it will give you a calmer mind and help you to be more focused.

Meditation will also help you to understand your own mind so that you can turn negative into postive, disturbed into peacfulness, and create happiness instead of unhappiness.

So when you look at it that way you have to see and understand the values of meditation and that you can find a few minutes each day to meditate.

So let's begin to get ready for a meditation experience that will be beneficial to the body, mind and the spirit.

Meditation: Spring Clean your body, mind and spirit.You can get the feeling of refreshment even if it is not spring. So let's do a little spring cleaning and renew yourself.

"Spring cleaning" is a chore that we all do to our homes in the spring so why not give your body, mind and spirit the same tender loving care. It is time to clear out, clean up and do a deep cleansing and welcome in space, light and energy into your lives.

Breathe in sunshine and fresh air, scan your body, mind and spirit and allow your eyes to focus on anything that might be calling for some attention.

Breathe in a fresh breathe of spring. Exhale old, stale energy.

Breathe in clarity.Exhale mental clutter.

Breathe in calm. Exhale emotional disarray.

Breathe in new possibilities.Exhale that which stands in the way of happiness and health. As your lungs fill with fresh air, and you exhale tensions and stress, feel yourself coming into a state of relaxation where your body, mind and spirit are aligned.

Meditationis a discipline in which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. It often involves turning your attention to a single point of reference. Meditation is recognized as a component of almost all religions, and has been practiced for over 5,000 years. It is also practiced outside religious traditions. Different meditative disciplines encompass a wide range of spiritual and/or psychophysical practices which can emphasize different goals - from the achievement of a higher state of consciousness, to greater focus, creativity or self-awareness, or just simply a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind.

Four things to keep in mind as you begin to meditate.

STILLNESS: This is the foundation for sitting meditation. You need to be still and motionless for a period of time and remain alert and awake. If you keep your body still the mind will be still.

POSTURE: Assume and upright postion and keep your spine long and straight. The upper body should always be self supported. Do not lean on the wall or the back of a chair.

ATTENTION: Sit still and upright and then your mind will begin to become very clear. This will happen naturally. If you find your mind starting to wander just bring it back to stillness. A good tool to use here is to focus on your breathing or use a mantra which is a short phrase or sound that you repeat over and over again in your mind.

COMING BACK:The mind will wander off over and over again. Soon you will realize that the mind has wandered off and at that point you "come back".

Meditation is a three step process which leads to a state of consciousness. This is where you find serenity, clarity and bliss. The first illustration is our "normal" state of mind. Here you go from one thought to another and have emotional and physical reactions. The sensory stimuli you receive in this state is completely uncontrolled. You might feel one way about something that you see and the next time you see it you could have a completely different reaction.The second illlustration is one which demonstrates Concentration. With meditation you start to gain control over your mind and life. Begin by sitting in a comfortable position, relax your body and calm your emotions and chose a word to repeat over and over. You can chose peace, love, happiness what ever suits you. But, remember your mind is used to being in charge and it will want to go off the subject. You have to be aware of this and return to concentrating. The third illustration is Meditation. This is where you will have complete attention and focus and not have your thoughts stray. As Concentration goes into Meditation the object or word that you were concentrating on will become deeper and without effort. It will be a spontaneous reaction. I like to use "love" as the word I concentrate on as there are many kinds of love. Everything in the universe that love is connected to will come to you. Your meditation on love will surely connect you to everything.

And that brings us to the fourth illustration which is a state of Contemplation. This is the ultimate state of consciousness. Here you are only conscious of your body and your ego. Here you consider to be separated from the rest of the universe. In Contemplation you will become conscious of the cosmos and you will realize that you are a part of that and know you are in unity with the cosmos. This is realization, this is cosmic consciousness. And this is why meditation should be an important part of your lives.